Mother-son charged in 'no-knock' seizure of marijuana, money

Thursday

May 9, 2013 at 7:12 PMMay 9, 2013 at 7:20 PM

Members of the Anderson County 7th Judicial District Crime Task Force executed a search warrant at a Scarboro neighborhood residence Tuesday morning, where they found numerous bags of marijuana, seized money, and arrested a mother and son.

by Beverly Majors/Staff

Members of the Anderson County 7th Judicial District Crime Task Force executed a search warrant at a Scarboro neighborhood residence Tuesday morning, where they found numerous bags of marijuana, seized money, and arrested a mother and son.

A warrant was also issued for a third person connected to this investigation.

An Oak Ridge Police Department release said the warrant was executed at 248 Carver Ave. but the actual address is 248 S. Benedict Ave, according to officers on the scene.

Arrested in the incident were 57-year-old Mary Ann Dixon and her 22-year-old son, David James Irby. Another person was inside the house when officers raided the duplex residence but wasn't charged. The woman inside wasn't the person the arrest warrant was issued against, said Albert Frost, director of the CTF out of the DA's office.

Frost said the raid was "a good lick" particularly in regards to the amount of drugs taken off the street. The CTF is made up of police personnel from the Anderson County District Attorney General's Office, the ORPD and the Clinton Police Department.

Frost said the CTF has been in operation for about eight months and has made about "nine major arrests." The CTF director said the Crime Task Force can cross police jurisdictions within the county.

About 7 a.m. Tuesday, the ORPD Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team "broke down the door" in what Frost said was a "no-knock warrant." He said the three people inside were awake and not roused from their beds when the SWAT team broke down the door.

The officers seized about two pounds of marijuana and more than $13,000 in cash from the residence.

"We found a mixture of different types of marijuana," Frost said. Some was in large bags and some was packaged in single bags ready for distribution, he said.

The charges against Dixon and Irby are considered "enhanced" to include the school zone law because the home is located on the corner next to the Scarboro Day Care Center.

Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi said the street value of the marijuana was estimated at about $10,000.

"I believe in the task force concept," the chief said. "When we share intelligence, we get results like this."

The investigation remains ongoing.

The Tuesday raid is the second raid the CTF has executed in the past three weeks in Oak Ridge. The Task Force executed a search warrant at an Outer Drive home on April 24.